“As long as I can stay would be nice,” Dach — who at 15 was the youngest player on the ice — said Saturday night in Warman after potting two goals and an assist during a 7-5 exhibition loss to the Prince Albert Raiders.

Dach, the second overall pick in this spring’s WHL bantam draft, played regular shifts Saturday night, including on the power-play. He scored a go-ahead marker early in the third period, watched P.A. score the equalizer, then notched another go-ahead goal five minutes later.

He also absorbed a wicked open-ice hit from Carson Miller late in the second period that sent him sprawling. It hurt, he conceded, but he bounced right up. Miller was assessed a hit-to-the-head penalty, but Dach said later that it felt clean.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

“It was a wakeup call for me; after that, I scored two goals,” he said with a grin. “Maybe I should do that more often in games; get hit, and I’ll score more.

“It’s hockey. It’s going to happen. It’s a contact sport. If you don’t like the contact, you can go play golf.”

“He’s that type of kid,” said Blades’ head coach Dean Brockman. “I’ve seen it through the pre-season, where a lot of guys have taken runs at him, and he just bounces up and smiles.”

Dach, the beneficiary of a recent growth spurt that pushed his height to 6-foot-3, looked comfortable on the ice Saturday — so comfortable, that he was named the game’s first star. The two goals were his first in a Blades uniform.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

More On This Topic

Brockman said the kid will definitely stay with the team through next weekend’s pre-season game in Edmonton. Brockman hasn’t ruled out keeping Dach for the Blades’ season opener, depending on what’s happening with the rest of his roster, but he notes that he has just five games to work with this season.

“Everybody got a taste of what he’s going to be,” Brockman said. “Fans are going to be treated to a pretty special player when he comes and joins us full-time.”

Brockman was non-committal when asked if Dach would have been ready to play a full season now, at age 15, if the WHL permitted it.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

“It’s tough to say,” he said. “Teams aren’t playing their full lineups, and you have to be careful with how he wears down. He’s not fully developed yet. He has the potential to play (all season at 15), but he can’t, so we don’t even have to worry about it.”

Dach, who is ticketed to return to his midget team in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., talked about his need to get “bigger and stronger and faster” as the season goes along.

Saskatoon wasn’t able to put his two third-period goals to use in the end; the Raiders erased a 5-4 deficit by firing three markers — two on the power-play and a third on an empty netter — over the game’s final nine minutes.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Brockman was pleased with his team’s aggressive play during a feisty affair, but not so much with the third-period trips to the box.

“When you’re taking penalties in the third period to give them a power-play, it’s not a good thing,” he said.

Dach, meanwhile, assessed the situation like an old veteran.

“Tie game, and we take two penalties that ended up costing us,” Dach said. “It’s only pre-season right now, but when it comes to regular season, we’ve got to get out of those habits and make the smarter plays; skate away before giving one extra shot, don’t say anything extra. Know when to stop.”

Mason McCarty, Logan Christensen and Michael Farren also scored for the Blades, who trailed 1-0 after one period and were tied 3-3 after two.

Share this article in your social network

Trending

Related Stories

This Week in Flyers

Article Comments

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Notice for the Postmedia Network

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.